In I Am
Sam, Sean Penn is Sam Dawson, a man whose IQ is equal to a seven-year-old
child. Yet, Sam is no slacker, working hard at his job at the local Starbucks.
A kind-hearted soul, Sam offers a woman a place to stay and the two have
relations, resulting in a baby named Lucy. Lucyís mother wants nothing to do
with her, leaving the moment they are discharged from the hospital, but Sam is
enamored with his daughter and is willing to do everything to keep her safe.

Sam is lucky
enough to have a terrific support system in his agoraphobic neighbor Annie, a
talented musician who knows a thing or two about babies and a whole lot about
The Beatles. He also gets help form his other friends who are also
developmentally disabled, but at varying stages, some higher functioning than
Sam. Although Sam is doing a great job raising Lucy, itís not easy. As Lucy
gets older, she begins to realize that her father is different from others. At
times, it makes her feel special to have a loving father like Sam who is
different, but at other times, she is embarrassed. And then there is the added
stress that she might surpass her father and become smarter than he is.

After an
incident at her birthday party involving another child, Childrenís Services
takes custody of Lucy, sending her to a foster home. Samís friends point him in
the direction of a high-powered lawyer named Rita Harrison.
Though she has a reputation of being difficult, brusque and cold, Rita surprises
everyone, including herself, by taking Samís case pro bono. While working to
fight for Samís parental rights, Rita finds that Sam is actually helping her
just as much with her own home life, consisting of a cheating husband and a son
who thinks he is unwanted.

Sam wants the best for his daughter and he soon realizes that people may be
right. Maybe Lucy would have a better life with foster mom Randy Carpenter who
wants to adopt her. Sam finds an
apartment closer to Lucy and gets better jobs
to supplement his income. Can Rita convince Sam to keep fighting for the one
being he loves more than anything in life?

I Am Sam
is an endearing story that accurately portrays the obstacles faced by
developmentally disabled parents of ďnormalĒ children. Sean Pennís depiction of
Sam Dawson is amazing. He is totally transformed into someone we vaguely
recognize Ė Penn did his homework for this role, changing his speech patterns,
the way he walks, even the way he stands and moves his hands in an effort to
portray his role with more believability. And, as Sam points out, he may not be
as smart as Lucy in some things, but in other things, he knows more. At her
age, Lucy would only know what has been taught her. She would not have learned
street smarts, she would not always know what to do in situations that Sam has
already encountered over the years. Sam is not completely unrealistic Ė he
knows he needs help, but in reality, a child is not raised by one single
person. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.

In addition
to Sean Penn, there are plenty others who deserve great praise for their roles
in the film. Michelle Pfieffer seems to portray emotionally frazzled roles well
and her role as Rita Harrison is no different. She somehow finds a way to make
the audience believe she is getting more out of her relationship with Sam than
he is getting out of it. Her frazzled behavior is often due to her home
situation and Rita finds herself marveling at Samís simplistic, yet spot-on,
view of her problems. Dakota Fanning in 2001, at seven years of age, offers a
hint at the amazing actress she would eventually become. She is entirely
believable as Lucy and suitably precocious and loveable.

Also worth
mentioning are Dianne Wiest as Annie Cassell, Samís agoraphobic neighbor and
mentor; Laura Dern as Randy Carpenter, Robert Schiff who makes the audience hate
him as Mr. Turner, the lawyer for the other side; and Doug Hutchison,
Stanley DeSantis, Joseph Rosenberg and Brad Silverman as Samís well-meaning
developmentally disabled friends who often add some small bits of humor to an
otherwise dramatic film.

I Am Sam is
a sad, but uplifting story whose message is clear Ė Sam may be seen as being
handicapped, but he is still able to provide a loving home for his daughter.
Sure, he needs help to give Lucy everything he believes she deserves, but what
parent doesnít need help raising their child. Iíve watched this movie over a
dozen times and it never gets old. I highly recommend itÖjust keep some tissues
nearby Ė this movie could wring tears out of the most ornery curmudgeon out
there.